IU Baseball at Rutgers - 5/7 and 5/8/21 on BTN+

[Aaron 4,147]

8-3 to Bottom 9. Bothwell back out so just going to use him today and that's it. However, keeps everyone else fresh for rest of weekend.

[btownqb 8,298]

4 minutes ago, Aaron said:

Tucker you need for long relief tomorrow. Manous has been hurt, but Mercer said in his press conference there is a chance he could be ready this weekend but no guarantees. 

Unless Manous is healthy finally doubt it is either of those. My guess is Bothwell again or Scott. 

Bothwell 

[Aaron 4,147]

Winner, winner chicken dinner! IU remains in first place.

 

[mjhoosier 93]

IU piles it on to win going away 8-3.


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[Aaron 4,147]

Well this was the big one. I am OK with a split this weekend but would prefer three of four and this is a good start.

Sommer finally looked like an ace again and would of had the win if Fougerousse had make even one mistake instead of two. Sommer should of given up just one run in seven innings and departed with a 3-1 lead if not for the bad plays. Instead he left after 6.2 innings and the game got tied because of it, so Bothwell got the win. Long term though, this is the performance we need from Sommer in opening games if we are going to get places.

Offense did enough early and late for the victory and that Scarlet Knights bullpen showed their true colors after being a lot better lately following early season struggles. 

Tomorrow is not ideal from a pitching stand point as Rutgers has another good lefty in Ben Wereski who will thrown against McCade Brown. The good news is Rutgers tends to chase a lot more pitches then Iowa, which should help Brown a lot given his stuff. The first game against Nebraska really scares me as they send their elite lefty Cade Povitch against presumably John Mudungo who has just one start. Sunday I really like our chances, as the Cornhuskers have only the one top of the line pitcher and he will face Gabe Bierman who we are saving for Sunday. 

Hopefully we can get just one of the games tomorrow (preferably Nebraska but I'll take either) and then win Sunday.

[btownqb 8,298]

1 hour ago, Aaron said:

Well this was the big one. I am OK with a split this weekend but would prefer three of four and this is a good start.

Sommer finally looked like an ace again and would of had the win if Fougerousse had make even one mistake instead of two. Sommer should of given up just one run in seven innings and departed with a 3-1 lead if not for the bad plays. Instead he left after 6.2 innings and the game got tied because of it, so Bothwell got the win. Long term though, this is the performance we need from Sommer in opening games if we are going to get places.

Offense did enough early and late for the victory and that Scarlet Knights bullpen showed their true colors after being a lot better lately following early season struggles. 

Tomorrow is not ideal from a pitching stand point as Rutgers has another good lefty in Ben Wereski who will thrown against McCade Brown. The good news is Rutgers tends to chase a lot more pitches then Iowa, which should help Brown a lot given his stuff. The first game against Nebraska really scares me as they send their elite lefty Cade Povitch against presumably John Mudungo who has just one start. Sunday I really like our chances, as the Cornhuskers have only the one top of the line pitcher and he will face Gabe Bierman who we are saving for Sunday. 

Hopefully we can get just one of the games tomorrow (preferably Nebraska but I'll take either) and then win Sunday.

Did we announce the starting rotation for this weekend like we do sometimes and I just missed it? 

[Aaron 4,147]

1 hour ago, btownqb said:

Did we announce the starting rotation for this weekend like we do sometimes and I just missed it? 

Yes. It was announced.

Only the Mudungo spot is "TBA" officially, but with Bothwell going today that's the only other option. Only other guy who has stamina to go more than an inning or two is Tucker and he is a so-so pitcher, so zero chance they send him out there against Povitch. My guess is they try to platoon Mudungo than Tucker for Nebraska game. Rutgers, Brown will go as long as he can and then probably Stahl and Scott first out of pen and Litwicki to close if needed in either game. 

[btownqb 8,298]

I've loved how simple we've been in simple run scoring chances. First inning.. two solid opportunities to score runs, and we take advantage of both. Scoring two runs in the top of the first inning in a 4 game weekend set is just so good for morale. 

[Aaron 4,147]

Like I said Rutgers is a far better matchup for Brown. Two strikeouts in first as the Scarlet Knights chased his pitches. There is a reason he was so dominant against them earlier in the year and Sommer was yesterday. This team is always swinging at anything, unlike Iowa who takes everything.

Its 0-0 after 1.

[Aaron 4,147]

Wereski just as dominant for Rutgers. As numbers reflect he is even better than Rutkowski. May be first to blink wins. It's 0-0 to Bottom 2. 

[Aaron 4,147]

Brown works another easy inning. 0-0 to third.

[Aaron 4,147]

Wreski also a quick 1-2-3. Still nothing doing for either team to Bottom 3.

[Aaron 4,147]

Brown dominant again as Scarlet Knights continuing swinging at Browns stuff not always in zone. 0-0 to Top 4. 

[Aaron 4,147]

Wereski perfect again to Bottom 4.

[Aaron 4,147]

On a side note these announcers clearly don't get what a nice college baseball stadium looks like.

Rutgers "renovated" their pre-historic dinosaur field in sense they added field turf. This is great for weather and rain. The problem is they addressed nothing else and still have by far the worst stadium in Big Ten similar to Sembower. It still has no lights, no locker room, no press box, no concession stand and horrible looking park-like bathrooms from 50 years ago. It still is INELIGIBLE to host a Regional. 

A huge waste of money and with a stadium like this it is going to be hard to get to players no matter how beautiful the new turf is. Unless you are going to do what IU and PU did and actually build new stadiums that are nice, don't bother.

[Aaron 4,147]

Brown perfect again. 0-0 to 5th.

[Aaron 4,147]

Wereski perfect as well. 0-0 halfway home and neither side has as much as a hit (IU has only baserunner with first inning walk). 

Key is going to be if IU can keep it scoreless once we get to bullpens where Hoosiers has huge advantage. Otherwise we will not win this one. 

[btownqb 8,298]

5 minutes ago, Aaron said:

On a side note these announcers clearly don't get what a nice college baseball stadium looks like.

Rutgers "renovated" their pre-historic dinosaur field in sense they added field turf. This is great for weather and rain. The problem is they addressed nothing else and still have by far the worst stadium in Big Ten similar to Sembower. It still has no lights, no locker room, no press box, no concession stand and horrible looking park-like bathrooms from 50 years ago. It still is INELIGIBLE to host a Regional. 

A huge waste of money and with a stadium like this it is going to be hard to get to players no matter how beautiful the new turf is. Unless you are going to do what IU and PU did and actually build new stadiums that are nice, don't bother.

I feel like removing the stands and replacing them with something nice.. essentially building a stadium around the field would be possible. 

[Aaron 4,147]

1 minute ago, btownqb said:

I feel like removing the stands and replacing them with something nice.. essentially building a stadium around the field would be possible. 

That would work very well. That's what IU did with Armstrong in 2001 with their last renovation before the one they did this year and it worked great. What they did though to add field turf while addressing nothing else, shows a lack of understanding or caring by Rutgers athletic department. Things like this are the reason they struggle to stay competitive.  

[Aaron 4,147]

Brown perfect in 5th. 0-0 to 6th in less than an hour.